Central reporting for life safety equipment

ABSTRACT

An emergency lighting system that includes a storage device, an emergency lighting device, an area control device and an external device. The emergency lighting device includes a light, a first controller having a first electronic processor configured to perform a self-diagnostic test, and a first input/output (I/O) device configured to transmit data associated with the self-diagnostic test. The area control device includes a second I/O device configured to receive data associated with the first self-diagnostic test form the first I/O device and transmit the data associated with the self-diagnostic test to the storage device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. Application No.I7/384,243, filed on Jul. 23, 2021 which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Pat. Application No. 63/055,45I, filed Jul. 23, 2020, theentire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments relate to emergency lighting systems.

SUMMARY

Emergency lighting devices, such as exit signs and remote lightfixtures, are commonly used in public buildings to indicate andilluminate areas such as stairs and exits in the event of a powerfailure. These fixtures may have an emergency backup power system, suchas a battery, that automatically turns on the emergency light when theprimary power source is interrupted. Once an emergency lighting deviceis installed, it must be tested periodically to make sure it isfunctioning properly. Determining whether each emergency lighting deviceincluded in an emergency lighting system has been tested may be costlyand time consuming.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides an emergency lightingsystem that includes a storage device, an emergency lighting device, anarea control device, and an external device. The emergency lightingdevice includes a light, a first controller having a first electronicprocessor configured to perform a self-diagnostic test, and a firstinput/output (I/O) device configured to transmit data associated withthe self-diagnostic test. The area control device includes a second I/Odevice configured to receive data associated with the firstself-diagnostic test form the first I/O device and transmit the dataassociated with the self-diagnostic test to the storage device.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of operatingan emergency lighting system that includes a storage device, anemergency lighting device, an area control device, and an externaldevice. The method includes performing, by a controller having anelectronic processor included in the emergency lighting device, aself-diagnostic test; and transmitting, by a first input/output (I/O)device included in the emergency lighting device, data associated withthe self-diagnostic test to a second I/O device included in the areacontrol device. The method further includes transmitting, by the secondI/O device, the data associated with the self-diagnostic test to thestorage device.

Before any embodiments are explained in detail, it is to be understoodthat the embodiments are not limited in its application to the detailsof the configuration and arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Theembodiments are capable of being practiced or of being carried out invarious ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology used herein are for the purpose of description and shouldnot be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or“having” and variations thereof are meant to encompass the items listedthereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unlessspecified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,”“supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly andencompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, andcouplings.

In addition, it should be understood that embodiments may includehardware, software, and electronic components or modules that, forpurposes of discussion, may be illustrated and described as if themajority of the components were implemented solely in hardware. However,one of ordinary skill in the art, and based on a reading of thisdetailed description, would recognize that, in at least one embodiment,the electronic-based aspects may be implemented in software (e.g.,stored on non-transitory computer-readable medium) executable by one ormore processing units, such as a microprocessor and/or applicationspecific integrated circuits (“ASICs”). As such, it should be noted thata plurality of hardware and software based devices, as well as aplurality of different structural components, may be utilized toimplement the embodiments. For example, “servers” and “computingdevices” described in the specification can include one or moreprocessing units, one or more computer-readable medium modules, one ormore input/output interfaces, and various connections (e.g., a systembus) connecting the components.

Other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent byconsideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aspects and features of various exemplary embodiments will be moreapparent from the description of those exemplary embodiments taken withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an emergency lighting system according tosome embodiments.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate emergency lighting devices included in theemergency lighting system of FIG. 1 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system of an emergency lightingdevice included in the emergency lighting system of FIG. 1 according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system of an area control deviceincluded in the emergency lighting system of FIG. 1 according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of an area external deviceincluded in the emergency lighting system of FIG. 1 according to someembodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an external device included in theemergency lighting system of FIG. 1 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a process or operation of theemergency lighting system of claim 1 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a process or operation of theemergency lighting system of claim 1 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an emergency lighting system according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a lighting system according to someembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an emergency lighting system 100. Theemergency lighting system 100 includes, among other things, a pluralityof emergency lighting devices 105A-105C, an area control device 110, anexternal device 115, and a storage device 120. Although shown asincluding three emergency lighting devices 105A-105C, it should beunderstood that emergency lighting system 100 may include any number ofemergency lighting devices 105A-105N as desired (for example, 10, 20,50, etc.). Likewise, it should be understood that any of the othercomponents included in emergency lighting system 100 are not limited towhat is shown in FIG. 1 .

FIGS. 2A and 2B show exemplary embodiments of an emergency lightingdevice 105. As shown in FIG. 2A, emergency lighting device 105 may beimplemented as a remote emergency light 200A. The remote emergency light200A may include, among other things, a housing 205A, a pair of lightemitters 210A, and a plurality of indicators 215A. The plurality ofindicators 215A may be used to display a condition of the remoteemergency light 200A. As shown in FIG. 2B, the emergency lighting device105 may also be implemented as an emergency exit lighting device 200B.The emergency lighting device 200B may include, among other things, ahousing 205B, one or more light emitters 210B, and a plurality ofindicators 215B.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system 300 of an emergencylighting device 105 according to some embodiments. The control system300 includes a controller 305. The controller 305 is electrically and/orcommunicatively connected to a variety of modules or components of theemergency lighting device 105. For example, the lighting controller 305is connected to, among other things, one or more light emitters 310, apower supply 315, a user-interface 320, one or more sensors 325, and aninput/output (I/O) interface 330.

In some embodiments, the controller 305 includes a plurality ofelectrical and electronic components that provide power, operationalcontrol, and protection to the components and modules within thecontroller 305 and/or the cleaning system 100. For example, thecontroller 305 includes, among other things, an electronic processor 335(for example, a microprocessor or another suitable programmable device)and a memory 340.

The memory 340 includes, for example, a program storage area and a datastorage area. The program storage area and the data storage area caninclude combinations of different types of memory, such as read-onlymemory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). Various non-transitorycomputer readable media, for example, magnetic, optical, physical, orelectronic memory may be used. The electronic processor 335 iscommunicatively coupled to the memory 340 and executes softwareinstructions that are stored in the memory 340, or stored in anothernon-transitory computer readable medium such as another memory or adisc. The software may include one or more applications, program data,filters, rules, one or more program modules, and other executableinstructions.

The one or more light emitters 310 are configured to provideillumination to an area. The light emitters 310 may be, but are notlimited to, incandescent lights, fluorescent lights, halogen lights,metal halide lights, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and/or lightemitting diodes (LEDs). When an emergency lighting device is implementedas a remote lighting device 200A, the one or more light emitters provideambient lighting to an area proximate the remote lighting device 200A.When an emergency lighting device 105 is implemented as an emergencyexit lighting device 200B, the one or more light emitters 310 are usedto illuminate an EXIT sign.

Power supply 315 is configured to receive mains voltage and supply powerto the controller 305 and/or other components of the emergency lightingdevice 105. As shown, the power supply 315 includes a battery 345 andcorresponding charger 350. The battery 345 is used for powering theemergency lighting device 105 during an emergency condition (forexample, when a power outage of the mains voltage occurs). In someembodiments, the power supply 315 receives power from the area controldevice 110 (for example, a battery included in the area control device110) during an emergency condition. In some embodiments, the powersupply 315 includes DC-DC converters, AC-DC converters, DC-ACconverters, and/or AC-AC converters. In some embodiments, the powersupply 315 may receive power from the mains voltage during standardoperating conditions.

The user-interface 320 is configured to receive input from a user and/oroutput information to the user concerning the emergency lighting device105. In some embodiments, the user-interface 320 includes a display(e.g., the indicators 215A, 215B) for indicating a condition of theemergency lighting device 105. For example, the display may be used toindicate the occurrence of a battery disconnect fault (e.g., battery 345disconnected from emergency lighting device 105), a weak battery fault(e.g., battery 345 capacity or battery voltage too low), a chargerfault, a light emitter fault (e.g., LED string voltage at or near zerovolts), and/or a brown-out condition fault. The display may be, forexample, a liquid crystal display (“LCD”), a light-emitting diode(“LED”) display, an organic LED (“OLED”) display, an electroluminescentdisplay (“ELD”), a surface-conduction electron-emitter display (“SED”),a field emission display (“FED”), a thin-film transistor (“TFT”) LCD,etc. In some embodiments, the user-interface 320 includes one or moreinput devices (for example, touch-screen displays, a plurality of knobs,dials, switches, buttons, etc.).

The one or more sensors 325 sense one or more characteristics of theemergency lighting device 105. In some embodiments, the sensors 325 aretemperature sensors configured to sense one or more temperatures of theemergency lighting device 105 (for example, a temperature within ahousing of the emergency lighting device 105, an ambient temperatureproximate the emergency lighting device 105, a battery temperature,etc.). In other embodiments, the one or more sensors 325 may beelectrical sensors configured to monitor one or more electricalcharacteristics of the emergency lighting device 105. For example, theone or more sensors 325 may monitor an electrical characteristic (forexample, voltage, current, power, etc.) of one or more components of theemergency lighting device 105 (for example, the light emitters 310, theuser-interface 320, the battery 345, etc.).

The I/O interface 330 may be configured to input and output data fromthe emergency lighting device 105 to other devices (for example, thearea control device 110, the external device 115, the storage device120, other emergency lighting devices 105, etc.) included in theemergency lighting system 100. As shown in FIG. 3 , the I/O interface330 includes one or more transceivers, hereinafter referred to as“transceiver 355”, that allow the I/O interface 330 to input and outputdata from the emergency lighting device 105 to the area control device110 and/or other devices in emergency lighting system 100. In someembodiments, the transceiver 355 allows for the I/O interface 330 tocommunicate using a wired network communication means (for example,ethernet). In some embodiments, the transceiver 355 is a radiotransceiver that enables the I/O interface 330 of emergency lightingdevice 105 to communicate wirelessly with other devices included in theemergency lighting system 100. For example, the transceiver 355 of I/Ointerface 330 allows for short-range radio communication (for example,Bluetooth®, WiFi®, NFC, ZigBee®, etc.) between the emergency lightingdevice 105 and other devices included in the emergency lighting system100. In some embodiments, the transceiver 355 of I/O interface 330 is aradio transceiver that allows for long-range radio communication (e.g.,cellular communication over a cellular network) between the emergencylighting device 105 and other devices included in the emergency lightingsystem 100. Although shown as including a single transceiver 355, itshould be understood that the I/O interface 330 of emergency lightingdevice 105 may include multiple transceiver devices. For example, insome embodiments, the I/O interface 330 may include one transceiverdevice per method of communication (wired, short-range radio, long-rangeradio, etc.).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system 400 of an area controldevice 110 according to some embodiments. The control system 400includes a controller 405. The controller 405 is electrically and/orcommunicatively connected to a variety of modules or components of thearea control device 110. For example, the controller 405 is connectedto, among other things, a power supply 410, a user-interface 415, and anI/O interface 420.

In some embodiments, the controller 405 includes a plurality ofelectrical and electronic components that provide power, operationalcontrol, and/or protection to the components and modules within thecontroller 405 and/or the area control device 110. For example, thecontroller 405 includes, among other things, an electronic processor 425(for example, a microprocessor or another suitable programmable device)and a memory 430.

The memory 430 includes, for example, a program storage area and a datastorage area. The program storage area and the data storage area caninclude combinations of different types of memory, such as read-onlymemory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). Various non-transitorycomputer readable media, for example, magnetic, optical, physical, orelectronic memory may be used. The electronic processor 425 iscommunicatively coupled to the memory 430 and executes softwareinstructions that are stored in the memory 430, or stored in anothernon-transitory computer readable medium such as another memory or adisc. The software may include one or more applications, program data,filters, rules, one or more program modules, and/or other executableinstructions.

The power supply 410 is configured to receive mains voltage and supplypower to the controller 405, other components of the area control device110, and/or the emergency lighting device 105. As shown, the powersupply 410 includes a battery 435 and corresponding charger 440. Thebattery 435 is used for powering the area control device 110 and/oremergency lighting devices 105 during an emergency condition (forexample, when a power outage of the mains voltage occurs). In someembodiments, the power supply 410 includes DC-DC converters, AC-DCconverters, DC-AC converters, and/or AC-AC converters. In otherembodiments, the power supply 410 may receive power from the mainsvoltage (for example, an AC power outlet) during standard operatingconditions.

The user-interface 415 is configured to receive input from a user and/oroutput information to the user concerning the area control device 110and/or emergency lighting devices 105 to which the area control device110 is connected. In some embodiments, the user-interface 415 includes adisplay for indicating a condition of the area control device 110 oremergency lighting devices 105. For example, the display may be used toindicate the occurrence of a battery disconnect fault (e.g., batterydisconnected from emergency lighting device), a weak battery fault(e.g., battery capacity or battery voltage too low), a charger fault, anLED driver fault (e.g., LED string voltage at or near zero volts), alight emitter fault, and/or a brown-out condition fault. The display maybe, for example, a liquid crystal display (“LCD”), a light-emittingdiode (“LED”) display, an organic LED (“OLED”) display, anelectroluminescent display (“ELD”), a surface-conductionelectron-emitter display (“SED”), a field emission display (“FED”), athin-film transistor (“TFT”) LCD, etc. In some embodiments, theuser-interface 415 includes one or more input devices (for example,touch-screen displays, a plurality of knobs, dials, switches, buttons,etc.).

The I/O interface 420 may be configured to input and output data fromthe area control device 110 to other devices (for example, the emergencylighting devices 105, the external device 115, the storage device 120,etc.) included in the emergency lighting system 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the I/O interface 420 includes one or more transceivers, hereinafterreferred to as “transceiver 445,” that allow the I/O interface 420 toinput and output data from the control device 110 to the emergencylighting devices 105 and/or other devices in emergency lighting system100. In some embodiments, the transceiver 445 allows for the I/Ointerface 420 to communicate using a wired network communication means(for example, ethernet). In some embodiments, the transceiver 445 is aradio transceiver that enables the I/O interface 420 of area controldevice 110 to communicate wirelessly with other devices included in theemergency lighting system 100. For example, the transceiver 445 of I/Ointerface 420 may allow for short-range radio communication (e.g.,Bluetooth®, WiFi®, NFC, ZigBee®, etc.). In some embodiments, thetransceiver 445 of I/O interface 420 is a radio transceiver that allowsfor long-range radio communication (e.g., cellular communication over acellular network) between the area control device 110 and one or moreother devices. Although shown as including a single transceiver 445, itshould be understood that the I/O interface 420 of area control device110 may include multiple transceiver devices. In some embodiments, theI/O interface 420 includes a first transceiver for wired communicationbetween the area control device 110 and the emergency lighting devices105 to which area control device 110 is attached. In such embodiments,the I/O interface 420 further includes a second transceiver for wirelesscommunication between the area control device 110 and the externaldevice 115 and storage device 120. In some embodiments, the I/Ointerface 420 may include one transceiver device per method ofcommunication (wired, short-range radio, long-range radio, etc.).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system 500 of an external device115 according to some embodiments. The external device 115 may be, forexample, a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, a computer, or anyother electronic device capable of communicating with devices includedin the emergency lighting network 100. The control system 500 includes acontroller 505. The controller 505 is electrically and/orcommunicatively connected to a variety of modules or components of theexternal device 115. For example, the controller 505 is connected to,among other things, a power supply 510, a user-interface 515, and an I/Ointerface 520.

In some embodiments, the controller 505 includes a plurality ofelectrical and electronic components that provide power, operationalcontrol, and protection to the components and modules within thecontroller 505 and/or the external device 115. For example, thecontroller 505 includes, among other things, an electronic processor 525(for example, a microprocessor or another suitable programmable device)and a memory 530.

The memory 530 includes, for example, a program storage area and a datastorage area. The program storage area and the data storage area caninclude combinations of different types of memory, such as read-onlymemory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). Various non-transitorycomputer readable media, for example, magnetic, optical, physical, orelectronic memory may be used. The electronic processor 525 iscommunicatively coupled to the memory 530 and executes softwareinstructions that are stored in the memory 530, or stored in anothernon-transitory computer readable medium such as another memory or adisc. The software may include one or more applications, program data,filters, rules, one or more program modules, and other executableinstructions.

The power supply 510 is configured to supply power to the controller 505and/or other components of the external device 115. In some embodiments,the power supply 510 receives power from a battery and providesregulated power to the controller 505 and/or other components of theexternal device 115. In some embodiments, the power supply 510 includesDC-DC converters, AC-DC converters, DC-AC converters, and/or AC-ACconverters. In other embodiments, the power supply 510 may receive powerfrom an AC power source (for example, an AC power outlet) duringstandard operating conditions.

The user-interface 515 is configured to receive input from a user and/oroutput information to the user concerning the external device 115 and/orother devices included in the emergency lighting system 100. Theuser-interface 515 includes a display (for example, a primary display, asecondary display, etc.) and/or one ore more input devices (for example,touch-screen displays, a plurality of knobs, dials, switches, buttons,etc.). The display may be, for example, a liquid crystal display(“LCD”), a light-emitting diode (“LED”) display, an organic LED (“OLED”)display, an electroluminescent display (“ELD”), a surface-conductionelectron-emitter display (“SED”), a field emission display (“FED”), athin-film transistor (“TFT”) LCD, etc.

Via the input devices of user-interface 515, a user of the externaldevice 115 may initiate one or more emergency lighting devices 105 toperform a self-diagnostic test. In addition, using the input devices ofuser-interface 515, a user of the external device 115 may requestinformation associated with the emergency lighting devices 105 fromstorage device 120 and/or other devices included in the emergencylighting system 100. The display included in user-interface 515 may beconfigured to present information regarding a self-diagnostic testperformed by one or more emergency lighting devices 105. The displayincluded in user-interface 515 may be further configured to display ahistory of all self-diagnostic tests performed by emergency lightingdevices 105 included in the emergency lighting system 100.

The I/O interface 520 may be configured to input and output data fromthe external device 115 to other devices (for example, the emergencylighting devices 105, the area control device 110, the storage device120, etc.) included in the emergency lighting system 100. As shown inFIG. 5 , the I/O interface 520 includes one or more transceivers,hereinafter referred to as “transceiver 535,” that allow the I/Ointerface 520 to input and output data from the external device 115 tothe emergency lighting devices 105, area control device 110, storagedevice 120 and/or other devices in emergency lighting system 100. Insome embodiments, the transceiver 535 allows for the I/O interface 520to communicate using a wired network communication means (for example,ethernet). In some embodiments, the transceiver 535 is a radiotransceiver that enables the I/O interface 520 of external device 115 tocommunicate wirelessly with other devices included in the emergencylighting system 100. For example, the transceiver 535 of I/O interface520 may allow for short-range radio communication (e.g., Bluetooth®,WiFi®, NFC, ZigBee®, etc.) between the external device 115 and otherdevices included in the emergency lighting system 100. In someembodiments, the transceiver 535 of I/O interface 520 is a radiotransceiver that allows for long-range radio communication (e.g.,cellular communication over a cellular network) between the externaldevice 115 and one or more other devices. Although shown as including asingle transceiver 535, it should be understood that the I/O interface520 of external device 115 may include multiple transceiver devices. Insome embodiments, the I/O interface 520 may include one transceiverdevice per method of communication (wired, short-range radio, long-rangeradio, etc.). In some embodiments, the I/O interface 520 of externaldevice 115 is incapable of directly communicating with the I/O interface330 of an emergency lighting device. In such embodiments, the I/Ointerface 520 may communicate with I/O interface 330 by forwardingsignals to and from the external device 115 through I/O interface 420 ofthe area control device 110.

During operation of the emergency lighting system 100, one or more ofthe plurality of emergency lighting devices 105A-105C may perform aself-diagnostic test. The controller 305 of a particular emergencylighting device 105 is configured to determine whether there are anyfaults within the emergency lighting device 105 while performing aself-diagnostic test. For example, the controller 305 may be configuredto monitor signals received from the one or more sensors 325 todetermine whether a battery disconnect fault (e.g., battery 345disconnected from emergency lighting device 105), a weak battery fault(e.g., battery 345 capacity or battery voltage too low), a charger fault(e.g., charger 350 is disconnected from power supply 315), a lightemitter fault (e.g., LED string voltage at or near zero volts), and/or abrown-out condition fault is present. Furthermore, the controller 305may be configured to perform a self-diagnostic test for various lengthsof time. For example, the controller 305 may perform a self-diagnostictest for one minute, thirty minutes, an hour, ninety minutes, etc. Ifthe controller 305 determines that no faults are present in theemergency lighting device 105 during a self-diagnostic test, thecontroller 305 determines that the self-diagnostic test was successful.If the controller 305 determines that a fault is present in theemergency lighting device 105 during a self-diagnostic test, thecontroller 305 determines that the self-diagnostic test wasunsuccessful.

In some embodiments, the controller 305 of a particular emergencylighting device 105 may be configured to perform a self-diagnostic testaccording to a predetermined schedule. For example, the controller 305of emergency lighting device 105 may perform a self-diagnostic testdaily, weekly, once every thirty days, monthly, annually, etc. In someembodiments, the controller 305 is configured to perform aself-diagnostic test in response to the I/O interface 330 receiving asignal. For example, the controller 305 may perform a self-diagnostictest in response to the I/O interface 330 receiving a signal from thearea control device 110. The controller 305 may be further configured toperform a self-diagnostic test in response to the I/O interface 330receiving a signal generated by the external device 115. For example, auser of the external device 115 may select, using the user-interface515, a particular emergency lighting device 105 from the plurality ofemergency lighting devices 105A-105C to perform a self-diagnostic test.Accordingly, the I/O interface 520 may transmit a self-diagnosticrequest signal to the I/O interface 420 of area control device 110,which forwards the request signal to the I/O interface 330 of theparticular emergency lighting device 105. The I/O interface 520 may sendthe self-diagnostic request signal directly to the I/O interface 330 orto the I/O interface 420 of area control device 110, which is configuredto forward the request signal to the I/O interface 330 of emergencylighting device 105. In some embodiments, each of the plurality ofemergency lighting devices 105A-105C are configured to perform aself-diagnostic test at the same time. For example, a user of theexternal device 115 is operable to issue a “mass self-diagnostic test,”which causes each of the plurality of emergency lighting devices105A-105C to perform a self-diagnostic test. In some embodiments, eachof the plurality of emergency lighting devices 105A-105C are configuredto perform a self-diagnostic test at separate times.

After the controller 305 completes the self-diagnostic test, the I/Ointerface 330 is configured to transmit a signal including dataassociated with the self-diagnostic test for storage at the storagedevice 120. The storage device 120 may be, for example, a cloud-baseddatabase, a remote database, a local database, or even a local storagedevice (e.g., a memory). The data associated with the self-diagnostictest may include information such as the date and start time of theself-diagnostic test, the length of the self-diagnostic test, a resultof the self-diagnostic test (for example, whether the self-diagnostictest was successful), a type of fault that occurred during theself-diagnostic test (for example, battery fault, charger fault, etc.),status of the emergency lighting devices 105 (for example, emergencycondition present or no emergency condition present), etc.

In some embodiments, the I/O interface 330 is configured to transmit thesignal including data associated with the self-diagnostic test directlyto the remote storage device 120. In some embodiments, the I/O interface330 is configured to transmit the signal including data associated withthe self-diagnostic test directly to the external device 115. In someembodiments, the I/O interface 330 is configured to transmit the signalincluding data associated with the self-diagnostic test to the areacontrol device 110, which is configured to forward the signal includingdata associated with the self-diagnostic test to the storage device 120and/or external device 115. The data associated with the self-diagnostictest is stored at the storage device 120 with an identifier associatedwith the emergency lighting device 105 that performed theself-diagnostic test (for example, “emergency storage device 105A”). Insome embodiments, the controller 305 of the emergency lighting device105 is configured to store data associated with the self-diagnostic testlocally in memory 340.

In addition to storing data associated with a particular self-diagnostictest, the storage device 120 is configured to maintain a record of dataassociated with all, or substantially all, self-diagnostic tests, statusupdates, fault conditions, and/or other events that have occurred in theemergency lighting system 100. For example, a status of a particularemergency lighting device 105, which indicates whether the emergencylighting device 100 is operating in an emergency condition, may beretrieved stored at the storage device 120. A user of an external device115 can retrieve, from the storage device 120, the data stored at theremote storage device 120 upon request. For example, a user of theexternal device 115 can select, via the user-interface 515, whichinformation is to be retrieved from the storage device 120. A user canselect to retrieve data associated with a particular emergency lightingdevice 105, data associated with multiple emergency lighting devices105A-105C, data associated with a particular self-diagnostic test thatwas performed, data associated with the history of all self-diagnostictests that were performed within a defined time period, and the like.

Upon a user selection of which data should be retrieved from the storagedevice 120, the I/O interface 520 of external device 115 transmits adata request signal to the storage device 120. Accordingly, the storagedevice 120 receives the data request signal and transmits a signalincluding the requested data to the external device 115. The requesteddata may be formatted in a report that is presented to the user ondisplay of the user-interface 515 of external device 115.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a data report 605 that is displayed onthe user-interface 515 of the external device 115. As shown, the datareport includes information associated with one or more self-diagnostictests that were recently performed by emergency lighting devices 105Aand 105B. For example, the data report 605 includes informationassociated with the date (Tues. 16 Jun. 2020), the start time (2:00 PM),the duration (90 minutes), and the result (successful) of the mostrecent self-diagnostic test performed by emergency lighting device 105A.Furthermore, the data report 605 includes information associated withthe date (Mon. 15 Jun. 2020), the start time (8:00 PM), the duration (30minutes), the result (unsuccessful), and a fault that occurred (weakbattery) during the self-diagnostic test performed by emergency lightingdevice 105B. It should be understood that although the data report 605shown in FIG. 6 includes information associated with emergency lightingdevices 105A and 105B, the data report 605 shown in FIG. 6 is not in anyway limiting of the type and/or amount of information that may beincluded in a data report. For example, a data report may include moreor less information than what is shown in FIG. 6 . Furthermore, a datareport may include information associated with any self-diagnostic testthat was performed by an emergency lighting device 105, not justinformation associated with a recent self-diagnostic test that wasperformed by the emergency lighting device 105.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a process, or operation, 700 of theemergency lighting system 100 according to some embodiments. It shouldbe understood that the order of the steps disclosed in process 700 couldvary. Furthermore, additional steps may be added to the process 700.Process 700 begins with the controller 305 of emergency lighting device105A performing a self-diagnostic test (block 705). The I/O interface330 of emergency lighting device 105 transmits data associated with theself-diagnostic test to the I/O interface 420 of area control device 110(block 710). The I/O interface 420 transmits the data associated withthe self-diagnostic test to the storage device 120 (block 715).

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a process, or operation, 800 of theemergency lighting system 100 according to some embodiments. It shouldbe understood that the order of the steps disclosed in process 800 couldvary. Furthermore, additional steps may be added to the process 800.Process 800 begins with the controller 305 of emergency lighting device105A performing a self-diagnostic test (block 805). The I/O interface330 of emergency lighting device 105 transmits data associated with theself-diagnostic test to the I/O interface 420 of area control device 110(block 810). The I/O interface 420 transmits the data associated withthe self-diagnostic test to the storage device 120 (block 815). The I/Ointerface 520 of the external device 115 receives the data associatedwith the self-diagnostic test from the storage device 120 (block 820).The external device displays, using the user-interface 515, dataassociated with the self-diagnostic test (block 825).

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an emergency lighting system 900 accordingto some embodiments. Emergency lighting system 900 may have a similarconfiguration to that of the emergency lighting system 100 illustratedin FIG. 1 ; however, the plurality of emergency lighting devices105A-105C included in emergency lighting system 900 may be furtherconfigured to wirelessly communicate with one another using a meshnetwork 905. As indicated by the wireless communication signals(lightning bolts) shown in FIG. 9 , the emergency lighting devices105A-105C are configured to wirelessly communicate with one another. Inparticular, the emergency lighting devices 105A-105C are configured towirelessly communicate with one another using short-range radiocommunication (for example, Bluetooth®, WiFi®, NFC, ZigBee®, etc.).

Using the mesh network 905, the area control device 110 is able towirelessly communicate with any particular emergency lighting device 105included in the emergency lighting system 900, even if said particularemergency lighting device 105 is not within communication range of thearea control device 110. For example, it will be assumed that emergencylighting device 105A is not within communication range of the areacontrol device 110. It will further be assumed that emergency lightingdevice 105A is within communication range of emergency lighting device105C, and emergency lighting device 105C is within communication rangeof area control device 110. Accordingly, if area control device 110receives a request to initiate a self-diagnostic test in emergencylighting device 105A from the external device 115, the area controldevice 110 can forward, through the I/O interface 330C of emergencylighting device 105C, the request to initiate a self-diagnostic test tothe I/O interface 330A emergency lighting device 105A. Accordingly, uponreceipt of the request to perform a self-diagnostic test, the controller305A of emergency lighting device 105A performs the self-diagnostictest. The I/O interface 330A of emergency lighting device 105A thenforwards, through the I/O interface 330B of emergency lighting device105C, data associated with the self-diagnostic test to the area controldevice 110.

In a similar manner to the example described above, the area controldevice 110 is further configured to retrieve additional information fromthe mesh network 905 regarding the plurality of emergency lightingdevices 105A-105C. For example, the area control device 110 may beconfigured to retrieve information associated with the status of aparticular emergency lighting device 105, location of a particularemergency lighting device 105, and/or sensor information from aparticular emergency lighting device 105 using the mesh network 905. Insome embodiments, the area control device 110 can estimate the locationof a particular emergency lighting device 105 based on a strength ofsignal received from the I/O interface 330 of a particular emergencylighting device 105.

The area control device 110 is further configured to initiate aself-diagnostic test in a particular emergency lighting device 105either directly or indirectly through other emergency lighting devices105 included in the mesh network 905. As described above, anyinformation associated with the plurality of emergency lighting devices105A-105C (for example, self-diagnostic tests, status, location, etc.)may be transmitted by the area control device 110 to the external device115 and/or storage device 120.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a lighting system 1000. The lightingsystem 1000 includes, among other things, the components included inemergency lighting system 900, a network server 1005, and an ambientlighting system 1100, which includes an area control device 1105, anambient lighting device 1110, and a sensor device 1115. Using themethods described above with respect to emergency lighting systems 100and 900 (including but not limited to use of a mesh network), a user ofthe external device 115 included in lighting system 1000 can control andreceive data associated with emergency lighting devices 105A-105C.However, a user of the external device 115 may further be able tocontrol and retrieve data associated with ambient lighting devices 1110and sensor devices 1115 included in the ambient lighting system 1100.For example, data associated with operating conditions of the ambientlighting devices 1110 and sensor devices 1115 may be transmitted to thestorage device 120 (for example, by area control device 1105 and/ornetwork server 1005) and retrieved from the storage device 120 by I/Ointerface 520 of the external device. Similarly, a user of the externaldevice 115 is able to control operation of (for example, turn off, dim,brighten, set scheduling, etc.) the ambient lighting devices 1110 and/orsensor devices 1115 included in the ambient lighting system 1100.Accordingly, lighting system 1000 is a comprehensive system thatprovides a user of an external device with control and access of dataassociated with emergency lighting devices 105, ambient lighting devices1110, and sensor devices 1115.

Embodiments provide, among other things, an emergency lighting system.Various features and advantages of the application are set forth in thefollowing claims.

1-24. (canceled)
 25. An emergency lighting system comprising: anexternal device; a plurality of emergency lighting devices, wherein eachemergency lighting device comprises a light, a controller having anelectronic processor configured to perform a self-diagnostic test, andan input/output (I/O) device configured to transmit data associated withthe self-diagnostic test, and wherein the plurality of emergencylighting devices are configured to wirelessly communicate with oneanother; and an area control device comprising an area control I/Odevice configured to wirelessly receive data associated with theself-diagnostic test from at least one of the plurality of emergencylighting devices, and configured to wirelessly transmit the dataassociated with the self-diagnostic test to the external device.
 26. Theemergency lighting system of claim 25, wherein the external devicecomprises a user-interface configured to display the data associatedwith the selfdiagnostic test.
 27. The emergency lighting system of claim25, wherein at least one controller of the plurality of emergencylighting devices is configured to perform the self-diagnostic testaccording to a predetermined schedule.
 28. The emergency lighting systemof claim 25, wherein a first I/O device of a first emergency lightingdevice is further configured to wirelessly receive a signal from asecond I/O device of a second emergency lighting device of the pluralityof lighting devices, and a first controller of the first emergencylighting device is further configured to perform the self-diagnostictest after receiving the signal.
 29. The emergency lighting system ofclaim 28, wherein the second emergency lighting device wirelesslytransmits the signal to the first emergency lighting device afterreceiving a request signal from the area control device.
 30. Theemergency lighting system of claim 29, wherein the area control devicetransmits the request signal to the second emergency lighting deviceafter receiving an initial request signal from the external device. 31.The emergency lighting system of claim 25, wherein the area controldevice is further configured to retrieve additional informationconcerning at least one of the plurality of emergency lighting devices.32. The emergency lighting system of claim 31, wherein the additionalinformation comprises at least one of a status of at least one of theplurality of emergency lighting devices, a location of at least one ofthe plurality of emergency lighting devices, and sensor information fromat least one of the plurality of emergency lighting devices.
 33. Theemergency lighting system of claim 25, wherein the area control deviceis configured to estimate the location of a particular emergencylighting device of the plurality of emergency lighting devices based ona strength of a signal received from an I/O interface of the particularemergency lighting device.
 34. The emergency lighting system of claim25, wherein the emergency lighting devices are configured to wirelesslycommunicate with one another using a short-range communication protocolcomprising one of Bluetooth®, WiFi®, near-field communication (NFC), orZigBee®.
 35. A method of operating an emergency lighting systemcomprising: wirelessly receiving, by an area control device comprisingan area control I/O device, data associated with a self-diagnostic testfrom at least one of a plurality of emergency lighting devices, whereineach emergency lighting device comprises: a light, a controller havingan electronic processor configured to perform the self-diagnostic test,and an input/output (I/O) device configured to transmit data associatedwith the self-diagnostic test, and wherein the plurality of emergencylighting devices are configured to wirelessly communicate with oneanother; and wirelessly transmitting, by the area control device via thearea control I/O device, the data associated with the self-diagnostictest to an external device.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein theexternal device comprises a user-interface and further comprisingdisplaying, by the external device, the data associated with theself-diagnostic test.
 37. The method of claim 35, further comprisingperforming, by the controller of at least one of the plurality ofemergency lighting devices, the self-diagnostic test according to apredetermined schedule.
 38. The method of claim 35, further comprising:wirelessly receiving, by a first I/O device of a first emergencylighting device of the plurality of emergency lighting devices, a signalfrom a second I/O device of a second emergency lighting device of theplurality of lighting devices; and performing, by a first controller ofthe first emergency lighting device, the self-diagnostic test afterreceiving the signal.
 39. The method of claim 38, prior to wirelesslyreceiving the signal, further comprising: wirelessly receiving, by thesecond I/O device of second emergency lighting device, a request signalfrom the area control device; and wirelessly transmitting, by the secondI/O device of the second emergency lighting device, the signal to thefirst emergency lighting device.
 40. The method of claim 39, prior toreceiving the request signal, further comprising: receiving, by the areacontrol device, an initial request signal from the external device;transmitting, by the area control device, the request signal to thesecond emergency lighting device.
 41. The method of claim 35, furthercomprising wirelessly retrieving, by the area control device, additionalinformation concerning at least one of the plurality of emergencylighting devices.
 42. The method of claim 41, wherein the additionalinformation comprises at least one of a status of at least one of theplurality of emergency lighting devices, a location of at least one ofthe plurality of emergency lighting devices, and sensor information fromat least one of the plurality of emergency lighting devices.
 43. Themethod of claim 35, further comprising estimating, by the area controldevice, the location of a particular emergency lighting device of theplurality of emergency lighting devices based on a strength of a signalreceived from an I/O interface of the particular emergency lightingdevice.
 44. The method of claim 35, wherein the emergency lightingdevices are configured to wirelessly communicate with one another usinga short-range communication protocol comprising one of Bluetooth®,WiFi®, near-field communication (NFC), or ZigBee®.